CHAPTER 221: INTERLUDE - REUNION (3)

“W-What the hell is that?!” Song Ha-Eun swore under her breath as she stared at the endless tide of demonic beasts pouring in.

The horde grew so large that the snowy plains completely disappeared from view.

They had faced a considerable number when they were previously trapped in the Demonic District, but this was on an entirely different scale.

“Don’t tell me every demonic beast around this rift has swarmed over here?” she said.

Was this possible even if their attempt to breach the rift had been detected? It was as if a single gap opened in a barbed wire fence, and an entire four hundred thousand strong army rushed toward it.

“I-I've never seen anything like this either.” Xiao Lin swung her sword and cleanly slashed through a demonic beast’s head.

Even if going to the Demonic District through the first rift was dangerous, it had never been this bad. Some Awakeners, like Megrez, had even made permanent homes in the Demonic District. How could they survive if armies like this showed up every time someone tried to enter or leave?

“They always said if you get caught, only the beasts within a hundred to two hundred meter radius would react.”

“This is way bigger than that,” Song Ha-Eun muttered.

The demonic beasts gathered like a black tide and covered not just a few hundred meters, but several kilometers all around.

“It feels like they’re not coming for us.” Song Ha-Eun studied the scene carefully with narrowed eyes.

The demonic beasts close by howled and charged, but the ones farther away near the rift were doing something else entirely. They lined up in ranks and faced the rift as if awaiting something. They bowed low to the ground like loyal subjects before a king.

“What are they doing?” Song Ha-Eun asked in confusion.

At that moment, she heard Allen murmuring beside her.

“No way. The Serpent... is crossing over right now?”

Song Ha-Eun looked at Allen while throwing a fireball into the advancing horde of demonic beasts. “The Serpent is crossing over? What are you talking about?”

“I once heard from Elder Megrez that the only time demonic beasts near the rift gather like this is when the Serpent herself leaves the Demonic District.”

“So you’re saying the Serpens Queen is coming here?”

“No...” Allen frowned in confusion. “I got a report this morning that the Serpens Queen is currently in South America.”

“South America?”

“Yes. It’s a territory dominated by the Musca faction.”

“Then what the hell is happening here?”

If the Serpens Queen was in South America, then who were these demonic beasts waiting for?

“I don’t know. We barely have any intel on the Serpens faction.”

The Black Star Society had only recently been recognized as a global threat. No one had much detailed information yet.

“In any case, it’s too dangerous to try pushing through right now. We should pull back and—”

“No,” Isabella cut Allen off and resolutely shook her head. “We can’t waste any more time.”

Even now, Kwon Oh-Jin could be injured and taking his final, dying breaths.

“But—”

“I’ll go alone if you feel that uncomfortable.”

Allen fell silent as he watched Isabella walk forward without hesitation.

She tightly gripped her scythe with both hands in an unwavering posture. She wouldn’t compromise.

“Haa.” Allen briefly sighed and followed her.

“You don’t have to follow me,” Isabella said.

“I promised Deneb, so I can’t just leave you two and...” He quietly continued. “I know all too well how unbearable it is... to watch someone precious to you die.”

Allen tightened his grip on his sword with a bitter look flashing across his face. His eyes wandered into empty space and glimmered with an unmistakable regret.

“Thank you,” Isabella replied quietly.

Allen casually slashed through two demonic beasts flying toward him with massive wings. “No matter how many demonic beasts there are, getting into the rift itself won’t be that hard.”

Even though an army of demonic beasts filled the snowy fields, their rescue party was strong enough to wipe one or two countries off the map if they wanted to. As long as they weren’t stuck defending, breaking through wouldn’t be a problem.

“We need to break through before they tighten up around us.”

“Leave it to me.” Song Ha-Eun pulled out a cigarette. “So basically, you're saying we need to hit these bastards with a fat blow to kick things off, right?”

“Sure, something like that.”

“Then buy me a little time. I’ll need a moment to prepare.”

Tsssss.

The tip of her cigarette flared red. Song Ha-Eun removed her eyepatch from her left eye and tucked it into her pocket. Slowly inhaling, she stared at the cigarette between her fingers and pictured a fire in her head. A blazing dragon’s breath that threatened to devour everything in its path.

“Ugh!”

A stabbing pain shot through her left eye as if pierced by a needle. The grotesque veins across her left eye snaked down to the nape of her neck.

I can do this.

Her heart pounded violently.

Thump. Thump.

She called out to the Dragon’s Heart slumbering within. The heart that curled up tight like a moody teenager shutting out the world began to pound uncontrollably.

Whoosh! Fwoosh!

Massive flames erupted around Song Ha-Eun, only to be sucked back into her over again.

“Oh, Celestial of Draco, Eltanin...” The moment she said the name aloud, the Stigma engraved on her chest brightly flared in response. “Not that you’re listening anyway, sleeping like a damn log.”

Fwoosh!

Nine Fire Dragons appeared from her Stigma, coiling around each other before gathering at the tip of her cigarette.

“For now, bestow upon me some strong ass flames.”

She flicked the cigarette away.

As if tossing a lit match into gasoline-soaked ground, the area around her instantly turned into a firestorm.

“Burn, motherfuckers.”

The nine intertwined Fire Dragons opened their mouths wide. A straight beam of dragon's breath tore through the demonic beasts ahead.

“Is it really okay to chant like that?” Xiao Lan muttered blankly at the gaping hole that opened up through the demonic beasts’ ranks.

Awakeners commonly invoked the name of their Celestial when drawing out their Stigma’s full power, but such a ridiculous way of chanting was unheard of.

“Let’s move!” Allen sprinted forward.

“Ugh...”

Song Ha-Eun staggered after unleashing the devastating blow and clutched her Draconic Eye. The sheer amount of mana she just used all at once made her head swim. She felt like passing out.

“Get on my back, unnie!” Isabella crouched in front of her.

“I-I’m fine. I can still—”

“If you fall behind, you’ll get surrounded by them. Hurry!”

“O-Okay.”

Still holding her eye, Song Ha-Eun climbed onto Isabella’s back. Without hesitation, Isabella ran as fast as she could right behind Allen.

Please, just hang on a little longer, Mr. Oh-Jin.

Isabella bit her lip hard as she sprinted.

Even though the brutal battle in the Demonic District had rekindled her terrifying thirst for blood, even though that gnawing hunger tried to devour her sanity, she craved his warmth the most.

I swear... I swear I’ll...

A crimson streak cut clean through the demonic beasts lunging at them.

Slash!

“This way!”

Even in the middle of all the chaos, Allen found the correct direction and precisely swung his sword through the horde. Each time his frost-coated sword swung, the demonic beasts froze and shattered like brittle ice.

Crunch!

“A big one is coming from the left!” Xiao Lin shouted.

Allen turned his head.

“Kuooooh!” A massive demonic beast that radiated terrifying pressure hurtled toward them with a deafening roar.

“I’ll take care of this one,” Allen said.

The demonic beast’s energy felt too overwhelming to simply ignore.

Allen stepped in front of the beast with his sword raised. The demonic beast, with a serpent-like body around fifty meters long, was covered in green scales. It had four pairs of burning red eyes that glowed menacingly.

“Basilisk.”

Just one of these demonic beasts could wipe out an entire city.

“Hup!”

Allen gripped his frost-covered sword tightly and charged head-on at the Basilisk.

“Ugh! There are way too many of them here!” Xiao Lan struggled to hold off the tide of demonic beasts on the right.

Though not as overwhelming as the Basilisk, the beasts flooding in were all powerful in their own right.

Still on Isabella’s back, Song Ha-Eun tapped her shoulder.

“Put me down.”

“But—”

“You can’t fight properly while carrying me, right?”

Isabella hesitated for a moment, but soon nodded and carefully set Song Ha-Eun down.

“I’ll handle the ones coming from the right. Unnie, break through the front.”

“Got it.”

Allen and Xiao Lin held the left while Isabella and Xiao Lan handled the right. The demonic beasts concentrated on both sides, leaving the front toward the rift comparatively less packed.

“Kreeegh!”

“Kheeee!”

The demonic beasts cried out and charged wildly toward them.

“Out of my way, mothefuckers!” Song Ha-Eun blazed forward and incinerated the charging beasts.

Oh-Jin.

Staring at the rift that grew closer, she bit down hard on her lip.

I’m coming to save you, so please, please, please...

“Stay alive, Oh-Jin.”

The tears she had been holding back ever since she left Kwon Oh-Jin behind in the Demonic District now streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks.

She had confidently told others that he would be fine, but the fear that she would never see him again always gnawed at her deep down. Maybe she would never be able to hold him in her arms again. Every time that fear surfaced, it felt like she would lose her mind.

“Oh-Jin! Oh-Jin! Oh-Jiiiiiin!” she screamed at the top of her lungs and sprinted toward the black rift.

Only twenty meters remained to the rift. Just a few more steps and she could dive straight into the Demonic District where he was trapped.

“I’ll save you, so...!”

The emotions she had bottled up burst out all at once. Tears freely streamed down her face.

“Please... please, just stay alive, Oh-Jin.”

As if her desperate cries had reached him, the black rift wavered just before she could leap in. A massive demonic beast emerged from it with the head of an eagle, the body of a lion, and the tail of a snake.

“O-Oh-Jin! Oh-Ji... Huh?”

Seeing Kwon Oh-Jin lazily sprawled out on the demonic beast's back, munching on potato chips like some unemployed middle-aged bum, caused Song Ha-Eun's expression to twist.

“The fuck is this?”

What the hell is he doing?